Propelling mechanism for cash and package carriers.



Y L. B. BETHARDS. PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR CASH AND PACKAGE CARRIERS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15, 1908.

Patented July 6 s NN LONZO B. BETI'IARDS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR CASH AND PACKAGE CARRIERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1909.

Application filed February 15, 1908. Serial No. 416,188.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lozvzo B. Bnrnnnns, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propelling Mechanism for Cash and Package Carriers, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which corres 'ionding numerals of reference in the difl erent figures indicate like parts.

The object of my invention is to provide a novel and etlicient form of propelling mechanisn'i for actuating cash. and package carryii'ig cars employed in store service apparatus.

My purposes, among others, contemplate a compact and durable construction, avoidance of tang-ling and undue wearing of the cord and maintenance of alinei'ncnt in the several co-actin,'- r parts, combined with simplicity oi coi'istrnction and case oi" operation; all of which is l'lOl'l-illt'tllQl more particularly described and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1. is a side elevation showing one station of a store service apparatus, and a car together with a propelling mechanism. embodying the features of my invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical section of the auxiliary trolley and loop or follower, Fig. 3 is a plan view o'l. said. auxiliary trolley and lollower, and i i 4. is a side elevation of a portion oil? a device showing a modified construction.

lleforring to the drawings, 1 represcn ts the usual vertical support or hanger, which is ordinarily attached to the ceiling 01 a room and braced by means of adjustable rods 2, connected. with. a fitting 3, which is interposed between ring-portions of a fitting generally designated by 4, which is rigidly secured to the hanger by means of a set-screw 5. Jointedly attached. at 6 to the fitting 4 is a fitting or casting 7, the main body of which consists of parallel plates to provide for the location or pulleys and other members as hereinafter described. A winch 8 has its bearing in. the forward end ol the fitting 7, and is used for the connection and tightening of an auxiliary wire 9. A secondary fitting 10, the body of which consists likewise of parallel members is jointedly attached at 1] to the lower end ot the part 4t. A. winch 12, at its forward end, serves as a connection -for the main wire 13 upon which the car, genorally designated by 14., is mounted. Said car is provided at opposite ends with the usual spring controlled locking members or catches 15, 1.5, jointedly connected in a well known way to the car. Each of said members is provided with an upwardly curved arm or loop 16 through which the main wire 18 is passed. The locking member is adapted to engage with. a hook 17 upon a spring controlled buiil'er rod 18 supported in a sliding'bearing in a lug 19 depending from the part 10. An upwardly extended arm 20 has a bore therein through which the wire 13 is passed, which serves to maintain the butler hook in proper alinement.

Ptigidly secured by means 01 a sot-screw 21, Fig. 1, in a bore formed in a cylindrical part 22 of the part 7, is an arm 23, preferably tubular, having a fittingZ l attached to its forward end. The wire 9, which, in the eX- ample shown is intended to pass from station. to station, is passed through a bore in the lower end oi said fitting and a butter 25 oi. any suitable yielding material mounted upon said wire as shown. The connection of the fitting 24 with the arm 23 not only serves to support the forward end of said arm when the wire 9 is continuous as stated, but to maintain the wire and arm in. alinement.

A small trolley 26 having grooved wheels 27 mounted above and a wheel 22 below the wire 9 is placed upon. said who between the parts 7 and 241:. Pins 29, 29, shown in. the several figures, are arranged to project upwardly from the body of said trolley so as to straddle the arm 23, and thus maintain the trolley in. an upright position upon the wire. A bail-like, or LJ-shaped follower 30 is j ointedly connected at 31 to opposite sides of the trolley and is inclined downwardly and rearwardly as shown to the main. wire-way 13, with which it is loosely connected. by means of a link 32 passing through a loop 83, better shown in lligs. 2 and 3, upon the end. of said follower. The follower is free to slide back and forth upon the wire 13, the parallel rods thereof being far eimugh apart to permit the car 14 to pass freely between them without contact. The trolley serves to hold the fol-- lower at all times in the desired position with respect to the car.

For the purpose ol" imparting a forward impulse to the car I provide the following described mechanism: Attaehed to the forward end of the trolley, in any approved way, is a cord 34, which is carried through an opening in the fitting 24, thence over a pulley 35, rearwardly through the tubular arm 23 to a pulley 36, thence downwardly beneath a pulley 37 upon a snatch-block 38, thence over a pulley 39 upon the fitting 7 and finally to a swiveled loop 10 to which it is at tached and from which said snatch-block is suspended. A cord 41 attached. to the lower end of the snatch-block, enables the propelling mechanism to be actuated.

The operation of said device is as follows: "he car 14 being locked in position at the station by reason of the spring catch 15 being in engagement with the hook 17, the first operation necessary is to release the catch. it will be seen by reference to Fig. 1., that the end of the follower 30 lies immediately be hind the part 16. A downward pull upon the cord 41, causes the cord 34 to be actuated; thereby pulling the trolley 26 forward and with it the follower 30, which serves in turn to release the catch 15 and to propel the car forward. When the trolley strikes the stop 25, its motion with that of the follower, is arrested, while the car continues to its destination, the follower remaining in its advanced position. Upon the return of the car 14, the follower is engaged by the part 16 and carried back to its normal position as shown in Fig. 1, when the operation may be repeated.

By the use of the term auxiliary wire, I wish to be understood as meaning a wire above the car track for supporting the trolley, whether that wire be extended from station to station as contemplated in Fig. 1 or merely from the part 8 to the end of the arm 23 as represented in the modified construction shown in Fig. 4;, in which 42 indicates the auxiliary wire. The former construction, which is the preferable one, possesses the advantage of maintaining the parts in more accurate alinei'nent. In Fig. l, instead of supporting the end of the arm upon the wire, I provide an inclined supporting rod 43 for connecting the end of said arm with the hanger in a well known way. By the use of the trolley, which is maintained in a vertical position through its connection with the part 23, the follower is always kept in place to act or to be acted upon without derangement, thereby avoiding the objection so common to cord propelling mechanism which cannot be prevented from becoming entangled with the car. Moreover, the placing of the trolley above and in advance of the car, causes the follower portion to exert its force both forwardly and. upwardly; thereby insuring the unlocking of the catch and advancing the car with a natural easy movement and at the consist of a solid rod so far as the support of the pulley at the forward end is concerned, I prefer to use a tube and to pass the cord 34 through it, which arrangement prevents the cord from interfering with any of the other parts while enabling a neat and attractive appearance to be imparted to the structure.

A further advantage in my improved construction is that the arm 23 is rigidly attached to the part 7, upon which the pulley 36 is mounted. The part 7 is pivoted in turn at 6 to the hanger fitting which permits the arm 23 to conform to variations in movement of the main wire-way while still keeping the cord 34 in perfect alinement with the pulley 36.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a store service apparatus having a main wire for the reception of a car and an auxiliary wire above it, of a trolley mounted upon said auxiliary wire, a forwardly extended arm above said auxiliary wire, a cord propelling mechanism supported by said arm for actuating said trolley, and a bail like follower connected with said trolley and said main wire, said follower being arranged in the path of the car.

2. The combination with a main wire having a car mounted thereon, of an auxiliary wire above said main wire, a trolley mounted upon. said auxiliary wire, arm above said auxiliary wire with its forward end supported thereby, pulleys at the forward and rear ends of said arm, cord propelling mechanism trained thereover in operative connection with said trolley, means upon said trolley for engaging said arm to maintain said trolley in an upright position, and a follower attached to said trolley, said follower being connected with said main wire and arranged in the pathway of the car.

3. The combination with. a store service apparatus having a main wire for the reception of a car, an auxiliary wire above it, a trolley mounted upon said auxiliary wire, a follower connected with said trolley for engaging the car, a forwardly extended arm above said auxiliary wire having its forward end supported by the latter, a pulley upon the forward end of said arm, a fitting joint edly connected to a hanger for supporting the rear end of said arm, a pulley upon said fitting forward of said jointed connection and a cord propelling mechanism trained over said pulleys and connected with said. trolley.

in testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 11th day of February 1908.

LONZO B. BETHARDS.

\Vitnesses:

D. H. FLETCHER, CARRIE E. JORDAN. 

